Max Gallien
@maxgallien.bsky.social
Political Economy, Development, Informality, Tax, North Africa. Author, "Smugglers and States" (Columbia 2024). Research Fellow
IDS and ICTD. 💚🐧
IDS and ICTD. 💚🐧
Reposted by Max Gallien
An actual quote from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’
Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'
Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’
Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'
September 19, 2025 at 10:25 AM
An actual quote from the Secretary of State for Business and Trade
Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’
Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'
Too often people go to university to ‘explore research and knowledge’
Look forward to Wes S saying 'too often people go to hospital to have operations' or Heidi Alexander saying 'too often people go to the station to catch a train'
Man I long for the day when I get to write opening paragraphs that aren't endless variations on "well, we know that the world is on fire".
August 11, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Man I long for the day when I get to write opening paragraphs that aren't endless variations on "well, we know that the world is on fire".
Reposted by Max Gallien
Letter of the day (in the Times)
August 11, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Letter of the day (in the Times)
Reposted by Max Gallien
📝NEW POLICY BRIEF: With tax now the main source of dev't finance, countries are under pressure to raise tax revenue fast. But done poorly, these could have damaging effects. The key is to tax smarter - but how?
➡️ ow.ly/2VCf50Wg8NU
#FfD4 #Tax4Dev #TaxResearch
➡️ ow.ly/2VCf50Wg8NU
#FfD4 #Tax4Dev #TaxResearch
The Tax Era of Development: Taxing Smarter for Equity, Growth, and Resilience - ICTD
Tax is not only the primary source of financing in lower-income countries, but also the lynchpin of development finance.
ow.ly
June 27, 2025 at 1:02 PM
📝NEW POLICY BRIEF: With tax now the main source of dev't finance, countries are under pressure to raise tax revenue fast. But done poorly, these could have damaging effects. The key is to tax smarter - but how?
➡️ ow.ly/2VCf50Wg8NU
#FfD4 #Tax4Dev #TaxResearch
➡️ ow.ly/2VCf50Wg8NU
#FfD4 #Tax4Dev #TaxResearch
Reposted by Max Gallien
NEW RESEARCH: Are Pakistanis supportive of wealth taxes? Here is what we found⬇️
1️⃣Support for wealth taxes cuts across class, income and gender
2️⃣It increases when people feel that taxes are spent well and transparently
3️⃣Trust in the state drives support
Find out more: www.ictd.ac/publication/...
1️⃣Support for wealth taxes cuts across class, income and gender
2️⃣It increases when people feel that taxes are spent well and transparently
3️⃣Trust in the state drives support
Find out more: www.ictd.ac/publication/...
Public Support for Wealth and Progressive Taxes in Pakistan - ICTD
This brief explores public support for wealth taxation and the factors that shape those attitudes in Pakistan.
www.ictd.ac
June 25, 2025 at 9:59 AM
NEW RESEARCH: Are Pakistanis supportive of wealth taxes? Here is what we found⬇️
1️⃣Support for wealth taxes cuts across class, income and gender
2️⃣It increases when people feel that taxes are spent well and transparently
3️⃣Trust in the state drives support
Find out more: www.ictd.ac/publication/...
1️⃣Support for wealth taxes cuts across class, income and gender
2️⃣It increases when people feel that taxes are spent well and transparently
3️⃣Trust in the state drives support
Find out more: www.ictd.ac/publication/...
If you're coming to #FfD4 in Seville next week and are interested in talking the future of tax & development, get in touch! I'll be there with a wonderful delegation of the @ictdtax.bsky.social - and we have a side event well worth checking out:
www.ictd.ac/event/ffd4-s...
www.ictd.ac/event/ffd4-s...
FfD4 Side Event | From Insight to Impact: Harnessing Research Collaboration to Build Better Tax Systems - ICTD
On July 3rd, the ICTD will host a side event at the Fourth International Conference on...
www.ictd.ac
June 24, 2025 at 2:09 PM
If you're coming to #FfD4 in Seville next week and are interested in talking the future of tax & development, get in touch! I'll be there with a wonderful delegation of the @ictdtax.bsky.social - and we have a side event well worth checking out:
www.ictd.ac/event/ffd4-s...
www.ictd.ac/event/ffd4-s...
📰New data: Is there public support for new #progressive and #wealth_taxes in Pakistan?
Our policy brief dissects brand new public opinion data on a range of wealth and progressive tax proposals, based on a survey of 7500 voting-age Pakistanis.
What do we find? (1/...)
www.ictd.ac/publication/...
Our policy brief dissects brand new public opinion data on a range of wealth and progressive tax proposals, based on a survey of 7500 voting-age Pakistanis.
What do we find? (1/...)
www.ictd.ac/publication/...
June 23, 2025 at 10:02 AM
📰New data: Is there public support for new #progressive and #wealth_taxes in Pakistan?
Our policy brief dissects brand new public opinion data on a range of wealth and progressive tax proposals, based on a survey of 7500 voting-age Pakistanis.
What do we find? (1/...)
www.ictd.ac/publication/...
Our policy brief dissects brand new public opinion data on a range of wealth and progressive tax proposals, based on a survey of 7500 voting-age Pakistanis.
What do we find? (1/...)
www.ictd.ac/publication/...
Really nice to see that the Journal of Borderland Studies considers 'Smugglers and States' a "must-read for scholars of political economy, border studies, and state formation". If that's you, the book is available here:
cup.columbia.edu/book/smuggle...
cup.columbia.edu/book/smuggle...
June 16, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Really nice to see that the Journal of Borderland Studies considers 'Smugglers and States' a "must-read for scholars of political economy, border studies, and state formation". If that's you, the book is available here:
cup.columbia.edu/book/smuggle...
cup.columbia.edu/book/smuggle...
Your email will not find me.
June 11, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Your email will not find me.
Reposted by Max Gallien
Despite the expansion of border fences, these barriers 'shift criminal dynamics, destabilize border communities, and have far-reaching implications for regional trade relations.' #humanRights
Since the end of the Cold War, the number of border walls and fences around the world has sextupled. But do they actually work?
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
Do Good Fences Actually Make Good Neighbors?
The number of border walls worldwide has surged since the end of the Cold War.
foreignpolicy.com
May 28, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Despite the expansion of border fences, these barriers 'shift criminal dynamics, destabilize border communities, and have far-reaching implications for regional trade relations.' #humanRights
Reposted by Max Gallien
For those working on border governance:
Centre Experts @maxgallien.bsky.social, Shalaka Thakur & Co-Director @weigand.bsky.social offer a valuable analysis in @foreignpolicy.com on what border walls actually achieve - and what they don’t 👇
Centre Experts @maxgallien.bsky.social, Shalaka Thakur & Co-Director @weigand.bsky.social offer a valuable analysis in @foreignpolicy.com on what border walls actually achieve - and what they don’t 👇
Since the end of the Cold War, the number of border walls and fences around the world has sextupled. But do they actually work?
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
Do Good Fences Actually Make Good Neighbors?
The number of border walls worldwide has surged since the end of the Cold War.
foreignpolicy.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:52 AM
For those working on border governance:
Centre Experts @maxgallien.bsky.social, Shalaka Thakur & Co-Director @weigand.bsky.social offer a valuable analysis in @foreignpolicy.com on what border walls actually achieve - and what they don’t 👇
Centre Experts @maxgallien.bsky.social, Shalaka Thakur & Co-Director @weigand.bsky.social offer a valuable analysis in @foreignpolicy.com on what border walls actually achieve - and what they don’t 👇
Since the end of the Cold War, the number of border walls and fences around the world has sextupled. But do they actually work?
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
Do Good Fences Actually Make Good Neighbors?
The number of border walls worldwide has surged since the end of the Cold War.
foreignpolicy.com
May 27, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Since the end of the Cold War, the number of border walls and fences around the world has sextupled. But do they actually work?
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
In this piece for @foreignpolicy.com, Shalaka Thakur, @weigand.bsky.social and I draw on our research and share some scepticism
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/23/b...
Reposted by Max Gallien
UK must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations, say more than 800 lawyers www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
UK must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations, say more than 800 lawyers
Exclusive: Letter to PM signed by retired supreme court justices among others says lack of action will imperil international legal system
www.theguardian.com
May 27, 2025 at 4:53 AM
UK must impose sanctions on Israel to meet legal obligations, say more than 800 lawyers www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Reposted by Max Gallien
This blithe attitude- oh we'll figure out if current migrants have to wait five more years or not, maybe they'll satisfy our nebulous economic contribution requirement and get fewer. It cannot hold. No-one high skilled will come to a country making it up as it goes along.
www.ft.com/content/7bad...
www.ft.com/content/7bad...
Migrants who arrived in UK after 2020 face five more years on settlement path
Government’s migration crackdown set to double default period for those pursuing potential pathway to citizenship
www.ft.com
May 14, 2025 at 7:53 PM
This blithe attitude- oh we'll figure out if current migrants have to wait five more years or not, maybe they'll satisfy our nebulous economic contribution requirement and get fewer. It cannot hold. No-one high skilled will come to a country making it up as it goes along.
www.ft.com/content/7bad...
www.ft.com/content/7bad...
Reposted by Max Gallien
christ, what a day to be an immigrant cursed with the ability to read
May 12, 2025 at 12:13 PM
christ, what a day to be an immigrant cursed with the ability to read
Lazy weekend rexommendation: always a sucker for coming of age but really enjoyed this book, it's got a unique voice, poetry, wit and force that stays with you.
May 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Lazy weekend rexommendation: always a sucker for coming of age but really enjoyed this book, it's got a unique voice, poetry, wit and force that stays with you.
Reposted by Max Gallien
This, so very much this. Having researched borders and their porosity for a decade - it is really stunning how resilient the myth of the 'complete border control' is, and how much chaos and and nonsense it has caused.
It has never existed historically, and is entirely unreasonable to aim for now.
It has never existed historically, and is entirely unreasonable to aim for now.
For the 328742390572th time: you CANNOT CONTROL EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE AT ALL OF GERMANY'S BORDERS
Even pre- #Schengen you couldn't
You can bugger up a lot of people's lives, cause irreparable damage to business, exchange and friendship, and make a lot of excess costs though
👏 Dobrindt
Even pre- #Schengen you couldn't
You can bugger up a lot of people's lives, cause irreparable damage to business, exchange and friendship, and make a lot of excess costs though
👏 Dobrindt
May 8, 2025 at 2:45 PM
This, so very much this. Having researched borders and their porosity for a decade - it is really stunning how resilient the myth of the 'complete border control' is, and how much chaos and and nonsense it has caused.
It has never existed historically, and is entirely unreasonable to aim for now.
It has never existed historically, and is entirely unreasonable to aim for now.
Reposted by Max Gallien
Even accepting the premise that AI produces useful writing (which no one should), using AI in education is like using a forklift at the gym. The weights do not actually need to be moved from place to place. That is not the work. The work is what happens within you.
April 15, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Even accepting the premise that AI produces useful writing (which no one should), using AI in education is like using a forklift at the gym. The weights do not actually need to be moved from place to place. That is not the work. The work is what happens within you.
"With #aid declining, FfD4 must include a concrete commitment to scale up investment in #tax systems" - as we are heading into the critical phase of #FfD4, a timely and insightful blog by @giuliamascagni.bsky.social @ictdtax.bsky.social
www.ictd.ac/blog/aid-dec...
www.ictd.ac/blog/aid-dec...
With aid declining, FfD4 must include a concrete commitment to scale up investment in tax systems - ICTD
I recently took part in the third high-level symposium of the UNDP’s Finance, Integrity and Governance...
www.ictd.ac
April 25, 2025 at 11:57 AM
"With #aid declining, FfD4 must include a concrete commitment to scale up investment in #tax systems" - as we are heading into the critical phase of #FfD4, a timely and insightful blog by @giuliamascagni.bsky.social @ictdtax.bsky.social
www.ictd.ac/blog/aid-dec...
www.ictd.ac/blog/aid-dec...
Reposted by Max Gallien
We are delighted to announce that Max Gallien has been named as the recipient of the 2025 APSA-IPSA Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award for his first book titled SMUGGLERS AND STATES. buff.ly/4G316B6 @maxgallien.bsky.social @ipsa.org @apsa.bsky.social
April 24, 2025 at 3:32 PM
We are delighted to announce that Max Gallien has been named as the recipient of the 2025 APSA-IPSA Theodore J. Lowi First Book Award for his first book titled SMUGGLERS AND STATES. buff.ly/4G316B6 @maxgallien.bsky.social @ipsa.org @apsa.bsky.social
Reposted by Max Gallien
Just a little over one week to submit your abstract for the 2nd Annual Historical Political Economy Conference at @usc.edu, co-sponsored by @usccis.bsky.social and the USC PIPE Collaborative. Keynote Address by @saumjha.bsky.social. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #econsky #polisky
Second Annual Historical Political Economy Conference: Call for Papers
Co-organized by Allison Hartnett, Assistant Professor of Political Science; and Jeffery A. Jenkins, Provost Professor of Public Policy, Political Science, and Law
University of Southern California
Oc...
docs.google.com
April 23, 2025 at 12:53 PM
Just a little over one week to submit your abstract for the 2nd Annual Historical Political Economy Conference at @usc.edu, co-sponsored by @usccis.bsky.social and the USC PIPE Collaborative. Keynote Address by @saumjha.bsky.social. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #econsky #polisky
"Western democratic partners of Tunisia have been strikingly and shamefully muted as Mr Saied’s campaign of repression has unfolded."
A sharp and clear @theguardian.com view on Kais Saied's authoritarianism in #Tunisia:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A sharp and clear @theguardian.com view on Kais Saied's authoritarianism in #Tunisia:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on Tunisia’s democratic regression: burying hope where the Arab spring began | Editorial
Editorial: The sentencing of opponents and other public figures to as much as 66 years in prison highlights the president’s dismantling of political achievements
www.theguardian.com
April 23, 2025 at 7:18 AM
"Western democratic partners of Tunisia have been strikingly and shamefully muted as Mr Saied’s campaign of repression has unfolded."
A sharp and clear @theguardian.com view on Kais Saied's authoritarianism in #Tunisia:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A sharp and clear @theguardian.com view on Kais Saied's authoritarianism in #Tunisia:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
None of this is surprising in a #Tunisia that has become deeply authoritarian. But it is worth to continuously note the depth and extent of this regime's paranoia and vindictiveness, and the pain it insists on inflicting on its opposition.
www.reuters.com/world/africa...
www.reuters.com/world/africa...
Tunisia hands lengthy prison terms to opposition leaders on conspiracy charges
A Tunisian court handed jail terms of 13 to 66 years to opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring, a case the opposition says is fabricated and a symbol of President Kais Saied's authoritarian rule.
www.reuters.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:46 PM
None of this is surprising in a #Tunisia that has become deeply authoritarian. But it is worth to continuously note the depth and extent of this regime's paranoia and vindictiveness, and the pain it insists on inflicting on its opposition.
www.reuters.com/world/africa...
www.reuters.com/world/africa...